Every summer needs some songs to capture the heat and freedom it usually entails. I can't remember a time when I wasn't looking forward to the bikinis, lake trips, road trips, and tan lines of the summer. I don't know what it is about the heat that brings out the fun in us, but as soon as the sweaters come off and the short shorts come on there's no stopping the adventures that are bound to happen. So, start streaming these songs and remember what happens in the summer stays in the summer...

1. "Ignition (Remix)" by R. Kelly

There's just something about the words, "Gimme that toot toot, lemme get a beep beep" that can make any person smile as the smooth RnB sounds carry along R. Kelly's lyrics about his weekend plans. This song feels a bit like a 70's disco, filling your mind with rich reds, golds, and purples. It's the perfect chill song to start off all your summer adventures.

2. "Doses & Mimosas" by Cherub

I'm not condoning the behavior this song promotes, but it just makes me want to yell the chorus (which is not super appropriate to be said on this website or really ever) at the top of my lungs to all the *haters* as I drive to work every morning. The upbeat rhythms and synthesizers of this song hide the actual desperation Cherub's words convey to their listeners, which really just describes how most of us feel while driving to our summer jobs. But, ignoring the meaning of the song it's a great choice to sing and dance to with your friends on a summer road trip.

3. "Fast Car"

I didn't include an artist for this song because there's so many different versions covering Tracy Chapman's original and I honestly love them all. Some people refuse to listen to any version but Chapman's but in my opinion I enjoy Boyce Avenue's cover just as well and there's a pretty cool remix by Jonas Blue and Dakota that adds a nice techno-pop touch perfect for dancing the night away with your summer fling. When I think of dancing to this song I think of chins thrown back laughing and arms being cast in the air as you spin in circles under the bliss of summer love and sun tans.

4. "Anything Could Happen" by Ellie Goulding

The first time I heard this song was in "New Girl" when Jess and Nick hook up for the first time and I fell in love with it that moment. The lyrics go "I'll give you everything you need/But I don't think I need you" because like the rest of us strong, powerful millennials Ellie Goulding doesn't need anything holding her back. Scream the words this summer until your lungs run out of air and that ex that's holding you down is in the past because Goulding's right, it's summer, "anything could happen".

5. "Put Your Records On" by Corrine Bailey Rae

There's nothing about this song that doesn't remind you of sunshine and summer vibes. Rae tells you to "go ahead let your hair down" so that's what you do as you roll your windows down and feel the summer sun hit the skin of your arms floating through air outside. This song feels like summer.

6. "Set On Fire" by Magic Giant

The banjo propelling this song gives a slight folksy feel, but not enough to make me consider it a folk song. The pre-chorus of this song ends in "No tears to cry" and you can't help but sing along with these words at the top of your lungs. This is the song I listen to when I'm upset or about to get road rage because it always picks up my mood as soon as it's lyrics escape my mouth.

7. "We Are the Tide" by Blind Pilot

This song is the kind that you play on an acoustic guitar around a campfire. There's nothing sad about a song that goes, "Everybody on the street singin' like it's Sunday." With a picture of a bright, sunny Sunday, no one could be upset. So start a summer adventure with this cherry song and it will be sure to be a great one.

9. "Harlem" by New Politics

I may have dreamed this, but I swear I heard this song on a commercial for "Frozen" once, which really makes no sense when the chorus ends in the words, "Shake it like a bad girl up in Harlem." Definitely nothing to do with "Frozen", but everything to do with summer shenanigans. Turn up this song and let the kick drum carry the beat of spontaneity through your summer.

10. "Roller Coaster" by Bleachers

Jack Antonoff sings "It was summer when I saw your face, looked like a teenage runaway", lamenting on nostalgia for young summer love, the kind that ends as soon as it begins. A perfect song to remember Summer's past and to coast you through the ups and downs of a summer fling.

10. "Dog Days Are Over" by Florence + The Machine

Florence captures happiness here, just like the feeling of sun hitting your shoulders the first day of summer. Florence sings of freedom and summer feels a whole lot like freedom.